A Private Affair - A.C. Arthur Page 0,41
already pacing in the space that she’d left vacant and Riley sat in her chair.
“Not at our expense! I made it clear they would never get another interview or invitation to any of our private events if they didn’t have an apology on the front page tomorrow morning. The editor is old-school but needs the readers so he was hesitant, said his guy got a direct quote from you.”
“He did.” She leaned forward and rested her arms on the desk. “He stopped me after the style summit and asked about the collection. When I wouldn’t tell him, he brought up Walt and his fiancée. He asked if we were designing her dress. I told him no and that I wished Walt well. Which is the absolute truth.”
Riley had decided a few years ago that wishing him dead wasn’t going to change what had happened.
“Don’t give them ammunition, Riley. How many times have I told you that?”
“If truth is ammunition, then I might as well yell ‘no comment’ every time I see a reporter coming toward me. Look, Dad, I know what they’re doing. They’re trying to bait me, ruffle my feathers, throw me off my game. I’m not going to let that happen.”
Ron stared at her seriously for a moment before chuckling and shaking his head. “Stubborn. Just like your mama.”
Riley sat back in her chair, for the first time in her life truly feeling unbothered by Walter Stone and his childish antics.
“I’ve just got better things to do with my time. We’re about to break records with this upcoming show.”
Her father took a seat in one of the guest chairs across from her desk. “That’s exactly what I want to hear. Tell me more about what you’ve done, baby girl.”
Riley was happy to talk about work with her father. She wasn’t thrilled that at twenty-nine years old he was still calling her his baby girl, but there was nothing she could do about that. Ron Gold wasn’t the type to change until he was good and ready.
* * *
The idea to construct a runway in the center of an old railway station was brilliant. It was the perfect backdrop for the rebranded King Collection, which was King Designs’s signature men’s collection. Tobias King and his team of designers had always been known for their cutting-edge, streetwise men’s clothes. But in the last two years that line had fallen behind women’s couture and wedding wear. Chaz was aiming to change that.
“It’s important to have the lighting coordinated with the music and the specific beats of the show. I don’t want any lags and every model must be specifically highlighted when they get to the front of the runway.” Chaz had been giving instructions all day while they worked at the venue. It was nearing six in the evening and he was just hitting his stride.
Ram, one of the three show producers, was nodding as he took notes on his tablet.
“Four rows of seats, not five. Three sections of seating and the remaining guests will be standing. We have a lot of room for people to move around, and if they’re standing too far in the back or near the bar during the show, that’s why we have the screens. The idea is to make this feel like a night at the club, not a high-end fashion show.”
“Got it. Alexa’s working with the backstage manager. They were having some deep discussion about where to place the rails and the chairs for the models. The designers are with hair and makeup, going through a hair and makeup test.”
“As soon as that’s complete I want everyone out to do another run-through. Have the designers stand down here and to the sides so we can get an idea of how everything is going to look. What’s the status of the rest of the set? We only have six more days for construction.” Chaz walked the length of one half of the U-shaped runway.
“We normally deal with the show producers.”
Chaz turned at the sound of another man’s voice. He held back a frown when he saw Lenzo Fuchetti, one of King’s top designers.
“I know what’s normally been done, but normal wasn’t working for this particular line. So this time around we’re switching things up.” Chaz normally worked well with the staff, whether at his company or Tobias’s, but Lenzo had a particularly hard time dealing with Chaz’s presence and the amount of impact he had on this upcoming show. Chaz could relate to an extent.